Spinal surgery involves many challenges as the long-term health and mobility of the patient often depends on the surgeon's technique and precision. One type of spinal surgery involves the removal of a damaged disc that is located between adjacent vertebral bodies. Procedures are known in which the damaged disc is replaced with an artificial disc or spinal fusion cage.
The artificial disc or spinal fusion cage includes protrusions for engaging the adjacent vertebral bodies to aid in the initial fixation of the artificial disc or spinal fusion cage. These protrusions are often sharp and can injure the surgeon's hand, if contacted, during implantation.
The insertion of an article, such as the artificial disc or fusion cage, presents the surgeon with several challenges. The adjacent vertebral bodies collapse upon each other once the damaged disc is removed. These bodies must be separated to an extent sufficient to enable the placement of the prosthesis. However, if the vertebral bodies are separated, or distracted, to beyond a certain degree, further injury to the patient can occur. The artificial disc should also be properly positioned between the adjacent vertebral bodies. Over-insertion posteriorly, or under-insertion anteriorly of the prosthesis can lead to pain, postural problems and/or limited mobility or freedom of movement.
Specialized tools have been developed to facilitate the placement of devices, such as artificial discs, between adjacent vertebral bodies of a patient's spine. Among the known tools for performing such procedures are spinal distractors and insertion devices. However, use of these tools to distract the vertebral bodies and insert the artificial disc or spinal fusion cage can prove cumbersome.
Exemplary devices for installing prostheses and/or grafts between vertebral bodies are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,431,658 and 5,505,732. U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,658 discloses a facilitator device for the insertion of bone grafts between two adjacent vertebrae. The disclosed tool has two flat, tong-like guides that distract the vertebrae as a screw-type inserter forces the graft between the distracted vertebrae. U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,732 discloses an apparatus and a method of inserting implants. The intervertebral space is first distracted and a hollow sleeve having teeth at one end is then driven into the vertebrae that are adjacent the disc space. A drill is then passed through the hollow sleeve, removing the disc and the bone in preparation for receiving the implant, which is then inserted through the sleeve. These devices are both operated with two-hands and do not provide safety features for preventing injury to a surgeon.
Despite existing tools and technologies, there remains a need for an improved device to facilitate insertion of an artificial disc or a spinal fusion cage.